Torture of the Soul LG
by Kimberleg
Summary: Legolas' despair in Helm's Deep turns to madness and violence. Can the love between Legolas and Anié survive to see a day of peace? PS 'Torture of the Soul AC' is the same only with a change before the end. WARNING! Graphic rape scene
1. They are all going to die!

Torture of the Soul

In a small armoury, the atmosphere in the air was terrible. The room was far too small for that number of people, and everyone was bustling about, trying to avoid bumping into the vast number of people around them. All except one of the people in the room were male: half were old men, the other half were young boys. None of the young boys were older than fifteen, and none of the old men were any younger than about forty. There was a mixture of emotions in the air: fear and despair of the hopeless battle and the most likely death that was to ensue that night, frustration that the job of delivering out weaponry was not being done hard enough and sadness that they had to do this awful job in the first place.

Old, battered swords, relatively well-kept shields and strong chainmail were being handed out as quickly as possible to everyone in the room, yet it is still a slow and dreary process. All that could be heard was the hustling, bustling and groaning of the old men. But everyone knew that in the caves was the sound of crying and wailing from the women and mothers after having to give away their children, husbands and brothers. It was a terrible thought to behold.

Another terrible thought was the truth which was that none of the men in the room could fight; half of them hadn't even held a sword before. Only four people in the room did not fit into this category: Aragorn, son of Arathorn, the Ranger and experienced swordsman; Gimli, son of Gloin from the Lonely Mountain, genius with an axe; Legolas, son of King Thranduil of the Woodland Realm, best archer in Middle Earth; and Anié Celebrindal, Legolas' one true love whom Legolas had taught to fight, so she was now an excellent archer and swordswoman.

Aragorn wandered around the small room, handling the swords and throwing them down onto the heap again, almost in disgust. Gimli stood stoutly, his hands resting on his axe, looking around and watching. Anié sat on the side with the other three men, cleaning and sharpening her long knife. Her long, beautiful hair lay still, resting on her delicate back, and her specially-made warrior outfit fitted her figure perfectly. Every now and again, she would look up. A few feet in-front of her, Legolas stood, tall, elegant and strong, and Anié felt comforted with him standing there. She looked up at his face and smiled. It didn't concern her too much, but what she did notice was that every time she looked up and smiled, Legolas would either not look at her, away in his own thoughts, or if he did look at her, he would not smile back. He would either give a subtle nod, sigh slightly or simply watch her smile, then look away again. She had fought by Legolas' side on many an occasion, even in battles where hope had died completely, and she had never seen him act like this before. She was a little concerned, but she kept it to herself. She could speak with him later if she wished.

Although she was very alert, she wasn't really paying an awful lot of attention to what the other men were doing. Everyone was waiting for something to happen – waiting for the huge army of 10,000 to arrive. Waiting and nothing more. She only vaguely heard Aragorn mutter something about farmers, boys and how they weren't soldiers. Gimli carried on the conversation and she continued to clean and sharpen her knife.

"Most have seen too many winters" said the Dwarf, loudly, which Anié thought was most inappropriate.

"Or too few" said Legolas.

Anié perked up. He had a point – both the Elf and the Dwarf's points were valid; old men shouldn't be going to battle, and it was heart-breaking to see the little boys dress up in men's armour, trying their very best to be brave, waiting to go to a hopeless battle and die. She slipped into her own memories of children and sighed sadly, placing one hand on her stomach…

A tear may have come to her eye if she had not come out of her memories to listen to her lover speak.

"Look at them" he said, speaking mainly in Aragorn's direction. The troubled Elf looked around at the men acting as the soldiers, preparing to go on stage for the final time.

"They're frightened. You can see it in their eyes".

Legolas stared at Aragorn. Aragorn stared at Legolas. Anié lifted her head and stared at Legolas also.

Legolas' eyes were a cold blue as he stared at Aragorn. Aragorn had turned his head to look at Legolas whilst he was fingering some chainmail, and his face was full of concern. Anié was more confused than anything – why was Legolas acting like this?

Legolas turned away and looked as though he may walk off.

"_Boe a hyn"_ (And they should be) said Legolas in his own tongue, referring to the people's fear, turning around to face Aragorn again.

"_Neled herain dan caer menig?_ " (300, against 10,000?)

Anié looked at Legolas and tried to hide her horror. She had never seen him like this before. The Elf's face was filled with something … she couldn't quite put her finger on it. But she was certain that dwelling in his heart and in his soul was an unquenchable fear that was beginning to consume any thought he had of hope and trust in the good of men, and also himself…

Aragorn was at a lost at what to say. He never thought one of his strongest friends fall into such a pit of despair.

"_Si, beriathar hyn ammaeg na ned Edoras_" replied Aragorn, as calmly as he could, trying to convince Legolas that if they had stayed in Edoras, they would have no hope of survival, whereas here, they did.

"Aragorn …" said Legolas quickly, unconvinced, "_nedin dagor hen u-erir ortheri"_ (they cannot win this fight".

He was clearly aggravated and as he spoke, his voice raised in volume.

"_Natha daged dhaer!_" (They are all going to die!) he shouted.

Aragorn, rather unexpectedly retaliated:

"Then I shall die as one of them!" he yelled at the top of his voice.

He strode forwards towards Legolas as he said this and ended up less than a foot away from him. Both the Mortal and the Elf stared at each other, not in hatred, but in trying to convey and control the emotions that had suddenly exploded from each of them. Anié watched, open-mouthed, horrified at these two friends shouting at each other. Being an Elf, she understood perfectly what had just been said and was struck with grief that Legolas had lost hope. She also knew that Aragorn that they were all going to die together in the presence of so many men whose morale was so weak was a bad idea.

Aragorn did not want to argue with his friend – he wanted to try and encourage him if anything, but at that moment in time, he did not know how. He was too upset and almost hurt that his friend had lost all faith in him, so he turned and left the room. Legolas tried to follow him, full of regret at what he had just done, but he was stopped by the Dwarf, he told him that the best thing to do was to leave Aragorn be. Legolas was slightly angered by the Dwarf stopping him from apologising but he made no action towards the Dwarf. He simply turned round in one swift movement and quickly left the room, leaving the men to finally break the silence and to mutter amongst themselves about what had just happened.

Anié was greatly concerned for Legolas and she too quickly left the scene in the direction that Legolas had gone off in. The Dwarf stayed seated and simply sighed to himself, not entirely sure what to do now. He thought of all the hundreds of Uruk-Hai he would be able to kill and that made him feel slightly better.


	2. The sexual monster

Anié followed Legolas as quickly as she could, but she did not know this place at all and Legolas was a swift walker. Unfortunately, she walked down many corridors but they were all as empty as the last one. She was still concerned about him but she knew he could take care of himself, so she walked back down many corridors until she found a small room. It was far away from everywhere and everyone else and it was quiet – the perfect place to sit, relax and think. She, too, was worried about the on-coming army that she knew would slaughter many without mercy and she also felt the agony of waiting weighing down her heart. However, she tried to remain as optimistic as possible and refused to lose faith in her friends or in hope.

She sat there for quite some time in the silence, deep in thought, when after a while, she heard footsteps coming towards the room she was in. The footsteps were virtually silent and only an Elf would have heard them coming, but she lifted her head as someone started opening the door. Legolas silently stepped in and she rose from the bed that she was sitting on as he did so.

"Legolas!" she said softly, happy to know that she finally knew where Legolas was and that he was alright. However, Anié was not entirely certain if he was alright or not, for she could not read the emotions on his face; it was like attempting to read a passage of foreign verse.

Legolas said nothing as he entered the room, he did not even look at Anié; he simply shut the door firmly behind him and barricaded the door with a large, thick wooden pole, making sure it could not be opened again unless he wished to be opened.

She took a step forwards to go and comfort him but she only took one forwards before he raised a hand to stop her. He lifted his head and looked at her. She saw great grief in his eyes that seemed to be unbearable to feel and even worse to see. Legolas began to slowly walk towards her as he spoke:

"I need you" he said, an odd tone in his voice. "I need you now more than ever".

He walked right up to her so their bodies almost touched and he placed his palms on the side of her head. He clasped her face gently but tightly and he looked straight down into her eyes. His breathing increased and grew heavier, almost as if he were about to burst into tears.

"I can't do this …" he said quietly to her.

"You can do this" replied Anié, equally as quietly but with hope and determination in her voice.

"You are strong. You just need to …"

She could not finish her sentence, for Legolas had moved his head forward swiftly and fastened his mouth onto hers. His lips clasped hers and they kissed deeply and passionately. Anié returned the kiss, knowing that Legolas needed her love to be strong. The kiss was passionate and Anié felt her emotions rising as their kiss grew. Legolas plunged his tongue down her throat as they both held each other tightly and strengthened the bond between them – when the kiss had started, a bond had been created and Legolas refused to let it break.

His hands ran through her hair and over her ears as she held him close to her and began to enjoy the special moment that they were sharing together. His hands eventually reached her shoulders and Anié could feel his tense muscles tightening. It did not hurt but she could feel it. However, she was too overwhelmed by this sudden burst of erotic passion to think about it much.

Legolas then began to move her backwards and they both crashed into the wall. Even though her back now ached a little, she chuckled and laughed between Legolas' lips, assuming that this was an accident, but when she felt Legolas kiss her just as strongly as before, she knew that this was a deliberate action. She did not quite understand why Legolas had done this at first, but once again, she did not have much time to think about such things as the passion continued to over-ride her. However, although the passionate romance was strong and overwhelming, she realised that Legolas was crushing her slightly. Her back began to ache greatly and the pain began to rise almost as quickly as the passion did. She was tempted to ask Legolas to calm down a little, but she could not speak as Legolas' tongue still claimed dominance inside of her throat. Besides, she knew Legolas would never even dream of hurting her deliberately, so she continued to kiss him and hold his strong, muscular arms and shoulders.

Then, without warning, Legolas sharply thrust his pelvis against her. She gasped suddenly as a stab of pain spread to her thighs. He seemed desperate to be as close to her as possible, perhaps a little too close, much too fast …

"Careful, my love" she managed to say through gasps of breath. Although she said this light-heartedly, a hint of slight concern leaked into her voice.

But Legolas did not seem to notice and he continued to crush her as hard as before, perhaps more so. For the first time in what felt like hours, Legolas finally let go of her mouth. As he did so, Anié wanted to massage her mouth, as it felt like all the energy had been sucked out of it, but as before, there was no time, for Legolas had let her go for one reason and one reason only – more sex. He pushed her suddenly down onto the bed – she had an elegant, slender body, so she fell down quite easily. As soon as she hit the bed, Legolas clambered on top of her and straddled her, pinning her down by her shoulders.

In the back of her mind, she was a little worried about Legolas and how rough he was being, but they had had passionate sex before back in Mirkwood and nothing bad had ever become of it, so she forced the voice away and let erotic emotions claim her body and heart. However, this was not a voice of paranoia; this was a voice of conscience and of common sense. It was trying to get a message across to her that she did no wish to believe nor did she fully understand. Erotic fantasies filled her heart and the two Elves continued to kiss on the bed.

Suddenly, Legolas lifted his head, once again breaking the kiss and gripped the top of her shirt with two clenched fists. In one swift and terrifying movement, he tore the entirety of her shirt in half, revealing her chest openly to him. Alarm bells began to ring loudly in her head as Legolas, now fully aroused, heavily kissed her neck. Before she knew it, he began taking his own clothes off until he was fully naked before her. Normally, she would be aroused also by such a gesture, but now, she was scared. She started to panic and looked towards the door, only now realising why Legolas had made sure it could not be opened, from the outside or the inside.

He leaned forward and kissed her deeply, his tongue rummaging inside of her mouth and his hands once again holding the side of her head. She kissed him in return, but she was worried as to where this was going to lead and what was going to happen next. She now knew that due to his grief and most likely anger at himself too, he had completely lost control. This was no longer Legolas. When she looked into his face, she did not see the man she loved but something else, like another creature, some kind of demon …

His hands held the side of her head and as the passion grew, so did his grip. He moved his body forward so he was straddling her hips and he tightly gripped her hair. As his grip increased, her breathing quickened and she made high-pitched shrieks of protest which were unfortunately muffled by his mouth over hers. As he gripped, his lust for her overpowered him and he pulled tightly so her hair was almost being ripped out of her scalp.

He eventually broke the kiss and sat up to his full height. Anié gasped heavily as such long kisses do leave you lacking oxygen, as well as her pain and fear. She screamed in desperate protest as he pulled, but he seemed almost deaf to her; no matter what she said, he did not seem to hear her – his mind blocked and ignored her completely. To her absolute horror, she soon realised why Legolas was pulling her down so – she saw that her face was being drawn ever closer between his thighs and inside, she felt nauseous.

'No…' she thought, 'please no'.

Legolas's head fell backwards and he exhaled heavily as he awaited his love to provide him with an outburst of pure, blazing passion. In desperation, she tried to pull herself away from his member but Legolas was far stronger than she was and as she pulled away, the pain in her scalp sky-rocketed – she was stuck.

Her face moved ever closer forwards and she flinched and screwed up her face in an attempt to move away as much as possible. She shut her eyes tightly, fearing the worst. She had stopped screaming, as he could easily force himself into her wide, open mouth; she simply protested loudly with her mouth firmly shut.

As soon as she felt her lips touch his hardened skin, she could physically stand it no longer. She launched herself upwards, pushing Legolas backwards as she did so. She clambered to the other end of the bed as quickly as she could as Legolas sat at the other end, his legs open and his face filled with sudden confusion.

He looked at her and unbelievable fury gripped him. His eyes widened and his mouth opened, revealing furious, clenched teeth. He shouted deafeningly and flung his arms forward, pouncing upon her like a wild animal. She screamed in shock as he grabbed her arms and painfully slammed her into the wall. Pain roared through her body and she tried to escape, but that only made things worse – Legolas realised this and his fury increased to such a height that words fail to describe its intensity. Still gripping her shoulders with his tight fingers, he slammed her once again into the wall. Tears welled up in her eyes as she felt the damage inflicted on her bones.

On his knees in front of her, he forced himself between her legs so he was close to her. He stared at her and she was terrified at the face that she saw glaring at her. Holding her strongly against the wall with one arm, he forced off her clothes with his other hand and once again forcing himself between her legs (which she attempted to keep closed and failed), pressed himself into her opening. His roughness made her sore and uncomfortable and she pleaded with him to stop. However, he could not stop now, even if he wished to. He moved up and down, rubbing against her sharply.

Anié was completely helpless – she could not escape, she could not move, she could not stop him, she could not even bring herself to look at him anymore. She was simply held there, eyes shut, trying not to cry, filled with utter disbelief at what the love of her life was doing to her. What was he doing? He loved her, why was he doing this to her?!

After some time, he began to thrust sharply into her. He could not enter her yet, but he was certainly willing to try, no matter what the cost. The pain, the agony, the grief, the horror, the whole situation … Anié simply couldn't bear it. She screamed loudly as tears leaked out from under her eyelids and rolled down her face.

"Please!" she cried in utter desperation. "Please … please stop! … It's OK, just stop, please stop … Legolas, please stop!"

She cried and cried, both in shouting and in tears, but Legolas (or whatever this 'thing' was) ignored her. He was so concentrated on entering her and receiving the pleasure he lustfully desired that his mind had blocked itself off from the rest of the world. He had even forgotten that in the next few hours, he would be fighting a battle. He was no longer himself, he just continued to thrust away into her.

He grunted and groaned with every thrust until eventually, with one hard thrust, he penetrated her. As he felt himself inside of her, he breathed heavily against her chest, as Anié just lay there against the wall, sobbing quietly to herself, for no-one else was there to hear her. Even though he had achieved his goal, he still continued to thrust, only now they were not so hard, fast and deep as before, which Anié was somewhat grateful for.

They remained in those positions for some time until finally, Legolas pulled himself out sharply and left the bed. Anié fell to the bed on her knees and slowly picked up whatever sheets or clothing was nearby to cover herself with. Neither of them spoke a single word as she remained still and silent on the bed and Legolas pulled on his clothing again. Once he was dressed, he walked to the door and with a loud and frightening shout, he removed the pole and threw it behind him. Anié ducked as she feared it may hit her (even though it probably would not have done) and an awkward silence filled the room once again. She kept looking down at the bed as she had done since Legolas finally let her go and she jumped in shock as Legolas suddenly left and slammed the door behind him.

Once he had gone, she raised her hand to her face and cried bitterly. She cried heavily and openly for what felt like hours. She could not bring herself to believe what had just happened. She did not understand anything now, nothing seemed to make sense. The pain and the grief she felt in that moment was unbearable. She was torn between loving him and hating him – she could not hate him, but nor could she understand how she could love a man who had just done that to her. Did he know how she felt? Did he feel the same? Did guilt now linger in his heart, or only proud achievement? She did not know. She simply knelt there, slowly re-dressed herself and wept.


	3. Punishment

A few hours later, Anié sat on the battlements of Helm's Deep, her slender body balanced quite nicely on the thin walls. She had managed to find another warrior shirt that fit her and her fair face was turned away from the mighty fortress, her beautiful eyes gazing out into the dark emptiness where she knew an army would soon begin to approach from. She was now fully dressed and ready to fight; blades, a quiver of arrows and a large bow adorned her back.

Aragorn, also dressed in what little armour he had, walked out of the fortress behind her, sorting himself out and breathing in the cold, still night air. He did not notice her at first, she was so still and calm, but when he did, recognised her instantly.

"Anié" he said politely. She turned her head slightly to see him.

"Why are you not in the caves?" he asked. Although his voice was gentle and friendly, a hint of sternness was present, implying to her that that was where he wanted her.

"I stay to fight with you, my Lord" she replied.

To Aragorn, her voice was different – a tone was present he had not heard before. He also instantly knew something was wrong by the fact that she called 'my lord' which she never did.

He nodded his head and allowed her to fight, for he knew she had excellent fighting skills and presumed she would want to stand by Legolas' side. She looked down sadly, then turned her head back towards the open plain before her. He walked towards her and stood beside her. All was quiet until Aragorn started a new conversation, one that Anié really didn't want to have.

"Have you seen Legolas yet?" asked Aragorn innocently.

An icy cold grip clutched her heart. She couldn't tell him, even if her heart needed her to … she couldn't …

"No" replied Anié sadly, the volume of her voice having decreased dramatically.

Aragorn nodded, then, having nothing else to say or do, began to walk away. Anié suddenly had a thought. She turned around suddenly.

"Have you?" she called after him. She was pretty certain that he wouldn't have done – she had no idea where Legolas now was – but she thought she'd ask anyway.

He turned and she was surprised to see that he confidently nodded. Her face changed to one of concern.

"How is he?" she asked, concern now clear in her voice, even though she tried to hide it.

Aragorn thought for a moment, then replied:

"He's alright" he said in a tone of voice implying there was more to come.

"He … he seemed alright" said Aragorn finally.

Anié, hiding her true emotions, nodded. Both Anié and Aragorn stood for a moment, silent once more, until Aragorn moved to get something out of his pocket.

"He asked me to give you this" he said.

He walked over to her with an envelope in his hand. Anié lifted her hand and held the envelope as Aragorn finished his sentence.

"I don't know why he could not give it to you, but …"

Aragorn watched her reaction. He had no idea what had happened – Legolas like Anié, had not told him either – but he assumed something must have happened between them. She seemed to freeze, as if time in that moment stopped for her. She then held the envelope in her lap, not looking at it and her face was lined with sorrow. She knew Aragorn was watching her.

"What's wrong, Anié?" he asked gently.

Anié was touched by his gentleness and his kindness, but she still refused to tell him what lay in her heart. She simply replied:

"There is nothing wrong with me, Aragorn. I was just worried for him".

She looked up at Aragorn and smiled subtly.

"Thank you" she said softly.

Aragorn bowed slightly to show his gratitude, then left the scene to sort out other matters. Once he had left, Anié looked down at the envelope in her hand. It was small and had the word 'Anié' written in black ink on the front, clearly written in handwriting of an Elf. Anié opened the envelope and read the letter inside:

_You are truly the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. For even when you are tortured, though I cannot see you, I know you are still so very beautiful. I understand if you hate me and never desire to lay your beautiful, perfect eyes upon me again, but I beg of you to read this letter so you may see just a little of what lies in my heart in this dark hour._

_You are the love of my life and I should treat you with respect. No crime is worse than the crime I committed against you tonight. I now owe you an eternal debt for my atrocity, but still I ask of you one last thing: I cannot live a life without you, my heart would not cope, for I love you so dearly, even though tonight, I did not show it. But a life without you is not a life worth living, so I therefore plead to you, please stay in the caves. They are not beautiful like our woodland home but they will keep you safe. I beg of you to stay there – I cannot risk losing you._

_There is no sentence strong or harsh enough that you can lay upon me that will fully pay this debt, but I go to fight a hopeless fight tonight._

_If I die, consider that my punishment._

_Your dearest love, Legolas_

Anié read small pieces of it again, but some of it she could no longer read, for her tears blinded her and some fell onto the paper in her trembling hands, making the ink run, so it looked as if the very words he had written for her were crying also. She wanted to find him – she wanted to run into his arms so that everything would be alright again. But she knew she could not, for she could already hear the stomping of many thousands of Uruk-Hai making their way slowly but surely towards the stone hell-hole Anié and Legolas knew as Helm's Deep.

Anié quickly wiped away what little tears remained on her face and placed the letter securely in her pocket. She then stood up and went to go and fight. Even though Legolas had pleaded with her to go down to the caves to be safe, she believed in her heart she could not leave her friends to fight by themselves – she would stand beside those she loved, even if it cost her her life.


	4. Breached Wall

Screams, roars, shouts and clashes of armour and swords filled the air. Everywhere you looked, an evil creature was running and screaming towards you – as arrows and swords flew in every direction, there was barely even a moment to breathe.

Legolas had no idea where his friends were – he was completely alone, both in body and spirit – all he knew was that he had to keep moving as the fight grew in intensity. This battle was not like the fights he was used to at home, but he still managed to kill and keep many a ferocious Uruk-Hai at bay.

Suddenly, he noticed a flaming torch running towards the Keep wall below him. He also heard Aragorn screaming at him to shoot him down and kill him. Legolas saw, aimed and shot. It was an excellent shot to the shoulder blade but to Legolas' dismay, the beast continued to run as if unharmed. As Aragorn continued to scream deafeningly at him, the pressure mounted and Legolas fired numerous arrows in the creature's direction. But still, to Legolas' horror, it continued to run. He only realised what was going to happen when it was too late.

As the creature leapt into the cavern full of explosives, the wall exploded, killing men and Uruks alike. Legolas watched huge slabs of wall and brick fly everywhere as well as humans as they were catapulted into the air, most of them dying as they hit the floor. Legolas felt nothing but pure guilt. As he watched the numerous numbers of soldiers fly off into the night sky, he saw a slim, delicate person fly up and backwards, turning in the air as it did so. For a horrible, stomach-churning moment, he thought he saw the face of that soldier – that female face. He stood there, mouth agape, praying that it was not Anié, even though his heart feared the worst.

The worst thing was that if it was her, he couldn't reach her, for the wall was so badly breach, no-one could cross to the other side. Swarms of Uruk-Hai flooded the inside of the fortress and Legolas had no choice but to rejoin the fight – it was either that or be crushed beneath the hoards of the enemy now running towards him, which he almost was. The agony in his heart had to be compressed for now, even though it was beginning to crush him from the inside.


	5. Guilt

Anié wandered through the silent fortress, corpses, mist and darkness surrounding her. Although the dawn had finally come, thick miserable clouds had begun to cover the sky and a shadow fell over all these within the destroyed keep. She spoke no words and her breathing was inaudible, even though to her, it felt deafeningly heavy after a long night of heavy, brutal fighting.

She walked in the breached courtyards whilst watching the Rohirrim soldiers carry the man dead outside to burn them, as was traditional in their culture. It was saddening to see so many innocent men killed so unnecessarily. As she climbed up onto the fortress balconies and walked along the narrow pathways, littered with rotting corpses from both races, she suddenly noticed that there was one person up here who was still alive.

The living person was quite a way away from her, but she could see him quite clearly. She could see that he was on his knees, his head bent, cradling another body. The body kneeling on the floor shook slightly occasionally and was obviously in grief. Although she could only see the living person's back, she instantly knew who it was.

"Legolas!" she cried and ran towards him.

Legolas did not move from his knelt position. As she ran towards him, dodging the many bodies that lay in her path, she came up beside him and saw his hair arrayed around him. He heard an Elf tightly in his arms, decorated with shining armour, his long lengths of blonde hair almost black with stained blood. Legolas' face – or what she could see of it – was clenched together as he tried to contain himself and failed. Tears ran down his face out of his tightly shut eyelids and his hands were coated in blood, almost none of it his own.

"Legolas" she said almost breathlessly as she ran up and knelt down beside Legolas.

It was clear to her that Legolas was in mourning, so she was very careful with him. In that moment – though she knew not why – the thoughts and memories of the events of that evening completely left her mind; Legolas needed help and she was always there, willing to give it.

"Are you hurt?" she asked, a tiny hint of concern leaking into her voice.

Legolas did not respond; he looked as if he hadn't heard. Anié took no offence at this and simply understood that he was greatly upset. A red blur on Legolas' shoulder caught her eye. She looked up and her eyes widened in horror as she saw a nasty looking injury on Legolas' right shoulder which she happened to be right next to – an arrow had skimmed Legolas' shoulder blade and just managed to enter Legolas but only cut through the skin and not much deeper. However, Anié still knew this would be painful to remove.

"Legolas you're wounded" she stated, remaining strong and confident.

"We need to get you inside – it needs to be treated".

Again, Legolas made no reply. More tears fell silently down his face and his head lowered itself more into the blood-stained hair of the Elf lying against him. Anié realised that Legolas was not going to leave this place alone – he would need someone to help him. She placed her hands on the dead Elf's soldiers, quietly muttering an Elvish prayer for him (even though she did not know him) and began to pull him away from Legolas with extreme caution. However as she did so, she felt Legolas' arms tighten around the body. She knew Legolas' strength and she knew that she was not going to be able to physically pull the body away from him.

"Legolas…" she said gently, trying to touch his heart and make him understand, even though it was impossibly difficult for him to –

"We cannot stay here like this. We have to leave him".

"We cannot leave him here" said a choked voice, his head still lowered.

Anié could hear his heart-broken voice and she felt such pity for him. Legolas did not understand death and in a sense, neither did she, but she could see Legolas was so desperately upset – she wasn't quite sure what to do.

"We can send him back to his people … if possible" she replied, trying to persuade Legolas to come away from this terrible place.

"He's dead" he said quietly, sadly admitting the truth.

"He feels no more pain" she cautiously added, being as gentle as possible.

"But you will" she added, changing the subject.

"The arrow has badly cut your back. It will need removing and washing as soon as possible. Come with me and I'll help you".

He looked up at her, his now open eyes filled to the brim with tears.

"Why do you want to help me?" he asked innocently.

Anié looked back at him, pure pity in her eyes and face.

"Because I love you" she replied simply.

They gazed at each other, Anié in pity, Legolas in grief. Legolas could not believe what he had just heard – she still loved him? But how? Why? After all he'd done to her, she still loved him?

She moved forwards and rubbed noses with him, giving him a tiny peck on the cheek. All the air in Legolas' lungs was sucked out of him in that moment – the feeling was unbelievable.

'She loves me … she loves me!" he thought.

She moved back and he could almost have laughed in that moment, but the grief was far stronger and overpowered him. He bowed his head again as he desperately tried to stem on the on-coming flow of tears. She almost cried herself to see him in such a state. However, she knew she could not simply sit there and cry with them – crying wouldn't help anyone. She knelt up a little and very carefully cut off the arrowhead off the arrow in Legolas' back. She looked down at him, knowing this would hurt and pulled out the arrow as quickly as possible. Legolas shouted loudly, yet tried to keep most of the pain to himself. Blood sprayed everywhere and coated Anié's hand.

"He's dead…" he said, his voice quickening in pace and showing panic.

"They're all dead … it's all my fault …"

He spoke his head still bowed and Anié wondered what was happening to him. She shook her head in disagreement, as she presumed he was speaking of all those who had died that night, but she said naught. His breathing increased dramatically and his eyes widened. Without warning, he lifted his head and stared at Anié, tears evident in his eyes.

"I'm sorry…" he said almost inaudibly.

He spoke a little louder: "I hurt you … I'm so sorry … I …."

He trailed off as his voice became choked with tears, which still continued to stream down his face.

"Legolas …" she said, her heart pleading to him to stop crying and for this grief inside of him to end.

"Legolas I love you … why are you being like this? What's wrong?"

He looked into her eyes and simply realised that he couldn't take it anymore. The grief totally overcame him as he collapsed to the floor in front of her. She was absolutely terrified.

"LEGOLAS!" she cried in her fear and broke his fall, dropping the bloody, broken arrow.

She held him in her arms, looking down into his heart-broken, helpless face. For a horrible moment, she thought he may have stopped breathing. She panicked and knew she needed help – she couldn't carry him by herself. Thankfully, Aragorn was relatively close by and she called for him loudly. He ran over as quickly as he could and nothing needed to be said as it was obvious to him what had happened. Together, they carefully carried Legolas inside and lay him on a bed in an empty room. It was small yet comfortable and perfectly safe for Legolas to rest and recover in. Aragorn made sure Legolas was alright before he departed the scene, but Anié stayed by his side and waited for his return to reality.


	6. Reconciliation

Anié sat in a quiet, comfortable bedroom that had been lent to her for the time she remained in Rohan. The Rohirrim King said that it would not be wise or very decent if she slept with the men, and so out of respect for her – as she had gained a lot of respect from the other soldiers – they arranged a bedroom for her. It was quite large, well decorated with Rohan motifs and was perfect for Anié to be alone in and be with herself. She sat on her large, almost double bed by herself, deep in her thoughts.

Once the Battle of Helm's Deep was over, they remained there for quite a number of hours – much though Anié desired to leave as soon as possible – they soon departed and headed towards Isengard. As they were leaving, Anié could not see Legolas and was worried they had left him behind, in which case she would remain also. But thankfully, she saw him riding a fair distance in front of her, Gimli seated behind him. As they rode to Isengard, Anié did not ride next to Legolas but kept close to him, wandering if he was alright. He seemed fine, physically, but whenever she saw his face, it was as if it was covered in shadow – a mysterious darkness covered his face and Anié began to feel a little concerned at times. After their encounter with Saruman, Anié found herself directly next to Legolas. At one point, Legolas looked towards her and she looked back at him, expecting him to say something. Disappointingly Legolas' face fell and rode away from her, muttering angry, grief-filled words in Elvish to himself. Her concern for him since then rose, but throughout the rest of the journey to Meduseld in Edoras, he never rode next to her – he always rode in front of her, as he was the faster rider – nor did her speak to her. She knew Legolas well enough that if he wanted to see, speak or be with her, he would do so; it was obvious he didn't, so she left him be.

It was evening and the clouds had finally cleared during the day, so the sky was now a deep blue colour, littered with beautiful crystal stars. Anié sat, alone on the bed, quite content by herself. She hoped Legolas would be alright but she did not know what to do for him; she did not know if she even wanted to be with him or not - she could not decide. However, she did not dwell on him for very long – he could take care of himself.

As she sat alone in the darkness and the silence, she had a knock at the door. She did not know who it would be – Aragorn, perhaps, telling her Legolas was awake – but the knock was almost inaudible; it was possibly the gentlest knock on the door she had ever heard. She stood up in one swift, graceful movement and turned her head to the door, expecting it to open, but it remained still and solemn with no movement. She replied to the knock just as gently as itself.

"Come in" she called softly.

The door slowly opened and a tall Elf walked in, his head slightly bowed, not looking at her at first. She was very surprised to see Legolas walk in and was not quite sure what to say. Legolas walked in like a shadow and shut the door behind him as gently as he had knocked and opened it. Both Elves stood there silently, Anié with her hands on her waist and her mouth slightly open, Legolas looking at the floor with a dark and serious face. She had never seen him like this before.

"Forgive my intrusion" said Legolas quietly, looking up ever so slightly.

"Not at all" she replied just as gently.

"Did you receive my letter?" he asked honestly.

Anié looked at him, her conscience tugging at her heart-strings; Legolas had asked her not to fight and since she found him, he knew she did.

"Yes" she asked, hiding her sudden concern.

His chin was almost digging into his chest.

"Were you hurt?" he asked, again with complete honesty.

Anié was secretly surprised that he wasn't angry or shouting at her. He was expecting him to be hurt, upset or maybe even offended that she had disobeyed his request. But instead, he seemed to be understanding about it and she was very grateful of it.

"No" she answered truthfully. She'd obtained a few minor cuts and bruises that she'd cleaned and dealt with but no more, certainly nothing Legolas need worry about.

Legolas whispered to himself: "Thank the Valar".

Anié just heard what he said and although she couldn't be totally sure, he almost sounded as if he was going to cry – the grief in his voice was almost unbearable to hear, let alone to feel.

An awkward silence filled the room. Both Elves stood a good few feet away from each other. Eventually, Legolas walked slowly forwards towards her. Anié was not sure how close she wanted Legolas to be – it wasn't that she didn't trust him, she was just being careful – but she was surprised when instead of coming up close to her, he knelt down at her feet, head once again bent.

"I cannot thank you enough for your kindness and generosity on me last night" he said, head still bowed and grief claiming his voice, even though he was not crying.

"Please" said Anié, feeling no need for compliments such as these, "you were hurt and …"

"No Anié" he interrupted, stopping her mid-sentence. He found himself incapable of finding the right words to finish his sentence.

"I do not deserve your love" he said slowly after a matter of time.

Anié looked down at him, beginning to feel equally upset.

"I do not ask for you to love me again" he continued, head still bent, "you may hurt me or even kill me, if that you desire or if that is what you feel I deserve, but all I will say is this: if you do not wish to love, tell me now so I may continue my life and … let my heart break as my punishment, for I know that is what my actions deserve".

Anié looked down on him, feeling total pity for him. After a moment's silent thought, she too knelt down before him, much to Legolas' surprise. She placed her delicate fingers on his chin and lifted up his face so he may look at her.

"Legolas" she began softly and innocently, "are you sorry for what you have done?"

Legolas stared into her eyes, his eyes holding pure desire and guilt.

His lips mouthed out the truthful words "of course" and a small smile crept onto Anié's face.

"Then you are forgiven and you have my love" Anié replied and she moved forwards towards Legolas, still on her knees.

Legolas received the shock of his life as he felt Anié's succulent, tender lips fasten gently onto his own. He accepted the kiss and returned the favour passionately. He could hardly believe that Anié was not only able to forgive me for what he had done, but that she still loved him and love him just as much as he loved her, which was an amount too large to describe in words. He felt Anié move closer towards him and as they wrapped their arms round each other, Legolas realised Anié was almost on his lap. Legolas held the back of her head with his head, desperately trying to kiss her more deeply. His desire and passion for her rose and he plunged his tongue into his mouth, carefully clasping the sides of her face as he tried to move further into her.

But as his passion for her rose, he felt the same urge, the same growing, near-unstoppable feeling inside of him, the same feeling he had felt the last time he and Anié had shared a romantic moment. It had stop, he had to stop it, stop it before it was too late … he couldn't hurt her again …

"No" Legolas said firmly.

Anié, somewhat shocked at his sudden reaction and resistance. They stopped kissing and Anié looked at him with a bemused look on her face. Legolas hung his head, wondering if stopping the kiss had been a good idea – he had been enjoying it so much.

"You cannot forgive me, not after what I have done. I have hurt you too badly and too deep, I …"

His head was hung and Anié felt moved inside of her as she saw a grief-filled look cross his face. After a pause and a silent sigh, he lifted his head and his round, sapphire, tear-filled eyes gazed into her equally sapphire eyes.

"I can't … not again … not after last time … I'm sorry, I …"

He could not seem to believe that Anié was willing to forgive him after the atrocity that he had performed on her without even knowing why. He was not sure how to finish his sentence, but thankfully he did not need to, for Anié had already placed her fingers on his lips to silence him. She was so moved that Legolas had seen the error in his ways and she was deeply touched that Legolas respected, loved and protected her the way he did.

"Wait here" she said. She raised herself and left the room, walking behind a curtain.

Legolas too stood up but did not know what to expect or what to do with himself. Where had Anié gone? What was she going to do? Was she preparing a punishment for him? He stood still for quite a few moments until she finally emerged from behind the curtain. She walked slowly forwards, the curtain trailing over her perfect body before falling gracefully behind her.

Legolas could not help but stare, his breath completely taken away from him. As her stunningly beautiful, naked form stood before him, her hands placed delicately on her waist, she looked at him with loving eyes as she watched him scan her body from head to toe, his eyes wide and his mouth agape. She simply stood there, silent and still, both Elves gazing at each other.

"Anié …" his lips mouthed breathlessly.

He stared at her once again before advancing. He felt the urge once again push him forwards and he rushed towards her, almost sprinting across the bedroom. When he reached her, his arms automatically enclosed her in his tight embrace and his lips advanced towards her own. With his eyes closed, preparing for a romantic impact to hit his lips, he felt surprised as the only feeling he felt on his lips was the touch of Anié's index finger. His eyes flew open –was she denying him? She gazed into his eyes with a certain authority Legolas had never seen before.

"Shh …" she said quietly, their noses almost touching.

"Calm yourself".

Legolas looked into her eyes, understanding her completely. Very slowly and incredibly gently, he gave a small kiss on the cheek, then moved back a little to give her her space. Anié smiled, pleased to see that Legolas understood her thoughts. Now she would reward him for that.

Anié sat down on the edge of the bed, looking up to Legolas. Legolas looked down at him and saw the most beautiful woman in the world – beautiful in many more ways than one. He too moved and sat on her lap, straddling her as he did so. As he continued to look down on her, he was so desperate for her, it was difficult to contain himself and near impossible not to lean down then, in that moment, and kiss her as if now was their last hour. But he held it in – he knew it would not be long now until he could let his passion loose.

Anié's hands fingered the clips on his blue tunic and slowly undid them, revealing the male Elf's stunning chest. Moulded perfectly and clearly built for an agile warrior, she scanned his torso with her eyes, taking in the wonderful masterpiece that knelt on top of her. She rested her head on his chest and Legolas nearly collapsed as his emotions ran through like a flaming whip, overpowering him as they did so. The only thing he wanted to do now was plunge his tongue down her throat and make love to her, there and then. He desired her so much, her body, her love, her touch, her kiss, everything about her thrilled him totally.

But he knew why she was putting him through this torture of holding himself in: this was no punishment, nor was it a reward – she was doing this so Legolas could learn to control himself so the events of that awful night in the terrible fortress would never happen again. Controlling himself using all his inner strength, he leant down to his ear, kissing it gently and whispered:

"I will be gentle".

Anié smiled, relieved, and looked up into Legolas' eyes, both of them knowing exactly what they want. Anié laid herself backwards, Legolas already in the right position. Legolas leant forwards with her and as soon as Anié's back nestled itself into the bed, both the Elves' hands were running up and down each other's bodies and the lips were firmly connected, never again to part. Anié undressed him as he passionately kissed her, thrilling her and that night, they had the most wonderful, the gentlest, the calmest, most passionate, most thrilling, most romantic sex they had ever had in their lives. As Legolas made love to her and Anié felt him deep inside her, she knew this was a love too perfect for anything to break.


	7. New Life

The most glorious of days had come – the sun was shining, a cool, refreshing breeze swirled around all in its path, the trees were glistening in the sunlight and as the branches swayed gently in the breeze, the odd flower growing at the feet of the huge, glorious trees, hiding beneath the growth of all the other living things growing around them.

The golden pathway was littered with leaves and lush, green grass. Two elegant Elves walked down that path, hand in hand and they couldn't be more content. A day of peace had finally arrived, their home country was once again restored to its former glory and all the evils and burdens in their lives had finally been vanquished forever. Everything about them and the area around them was beautiful in everyway. The two elves laughed, jested and spoke to each other happily – they enjoyed walking through the forest together, so they walked quite a long way for a few hours with each other.

After a while, simply walking became tiresome and so the male elf chased the female, making her laugh almost hysterically. Legolas chased Anié through the forest, round the trees and over small, grassy plains. Both Elves were extremely sleek and could run swiftly like deers without making any sort of print on the grass, but eventually, Legolas caught her and held her back from running. Anié, losing her balance whilst shrieking with laughter and light-heartedly protesting, fell over, Legolas falling down also not far from her. They both lay on their backs, laughing hard as their eyes scanned the sky above them.

Anié sat up a little, supporting herself with her arms, when suddenly, she began to feel a little uncomfortable. A pain began to dwell and grow in her abdomen and her eyes closed as she placed a hand on her stomach in an attempt to nurse the sudden shock of pain. Legolas, still lying on his back, chuckling, looked across at his wife and was horrified at the look of discomfort on her face. In one swift movement, he launched himself onto his knees beside her, his face showing sudden concern.

"Anié?" he said, fear obvious in his voice.

Anié took several deep breaths, her hand still resting on her waist.

Legolas apologised continuously: "I'm sorry Anié, I'm so sorry. Are you alright? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you, I …"

"It's alright" Anié interrupted quickly, looking across at her lover and smiling.

"I'm not hurt" she reassured him, "my fall just gave me a bump, that's all!"

She smiled at him in reassurance that what she said was true and he smiled weakly back, looking a little unconvinced. He sat down close beside her and moved forwards so their noses were touching. They gazed into each others, both of them taking fleeting glances at their other's lips.

"I never want to hurt you again" he said softly, his hand moving down her body to join hers. As he briefly caressed her hand with his own, his palm gently rested on her area where the pain had risen from.

She saw his face darken slightly as Anié saw within him his hidden grief.

"You still grieve over the events of the past" she asked him.

Legolas turned to her, his face totally fallen and shadowed with sadness. She placed her hand on the side of his face and gave him a small kiss on the lips.

"Inside, the guilt still remains" he replied sadly, almost darkly, "but I grieve more for those who did not survive to see this beautiful day".

He thought of Haldir as he said this, whose corpse he had held in his arms at Helm's Deep which seemed - thankfully - so long ago. Many more memories of Helm's Deep came flooding back and he almost wept. Anié saw his heart bleed for them and hers wept also.

"Do not grieve for the past" she told him, "What's done is done, and although my heart weeps for them also, we must not dwell on such saddening thoughts. We have our own life now and we must use it to the full".

Legolas looked across at her and smiled, the darkness lifted.

"That is true" he said softly, agreeing with her.

He stroked the side of her face with his free hand.

"_Veleth nîn_" he said.

Both individuals felt the same urge of passion and romantic love in that moment. Legolas leant forward into her face and they kissed, softly yet deeply, holding each other close. As Anié fell slowly onto her back onto the grass, Legolas' palm traced the swell of Anié's abdomen, for when Anié had said "we have our own life now", she was right – a new life had begun for the two individuals, who were now married, and a brand new life had begun for the elf-child that grew more with every day that passed within Anié – a child purely created through love.

**The end.**


End file.
